2008 Toyota Tundra Buildup - Family Truckster

Tundra 2WD Lift

When the owner of this '08 Toyota Tundra told us his plans for using it as a family camping vehicle as well as a parts hauler for his business, we knew we had to step up and help him with a Fantastic Four. Normally we'd opt for a lowering kit on a 2WD vehicle, but the camping aspect made us look in the opposite direction. With such a long wheelbase and puny stock tires, the breakover angle of this truck was sad. Just pulling out of a steep driveway would have hung this Tundra's undercarriage up, which definitely wouldn't cut it when it came to driving off the beaten path to campsites.

We decided on RCD's newest lift kit, recently developed for the Tundra, because it uses awesome Bilstein shocks and rugged powdercoated components that would let this Tundra go where it wouldn't have dared to go before. We brought the Tundra to RCD's facility in El Cajon where Phil Damon installed the kit. Phil already had some experience with the kit; he is after all, the engineer who developed it. To complement the new truck design and added capability, we ordered a set of 18-inch Dick Cepek Torque wheels and mounted them inside Dick Cepek Fun Country-II 305/70R18 tires. The industrial/machined look of the wheels perfectly match the ruggedness of Dick Cepek's aggressive all-terrain tire. With the extra tire and wheel diameter we'd need all the extra power we could pull out of the 4.7L V-8 so we headed to South County Auto Body, in Lake Forest, California, where the K&N intake and JBA exhaust were installed.

FROM THE DRIVER SEAT
The owner only had two complaints about the truck's transformation, well actually one complaint about two different aspects of the build. Both the K&N intake and the Dick Cepek tires were louder than the factory items they replaced. No real surprise there, since the factory tires wore a highway tread, but going from a brand-new truck that's quiet, to being able to hear the engine and tires is the tradeoff for the added performance and capability. Ride quality is excellent with the RCD kit and the Bilstein shocks were a perfect match for the Tundra.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Degree Of Difficulty: High. Not particularly difficult, but without a spring compressor you'd be stuck. Also, knowledge of the Toyota's stability control system is necessary to keep from throwing trouble codes.